>> they were the marco polos and mag gel lons off our time. we said farewell to. >> kneel armstrong was a testimony of all americans of what can be done through dedication. >> the eulogy of the first man on the moon delivered by the last to leigh us wap toured the spirit ofhose who made the journey. ♪ >> american heros who's final mission ended 40 years ago. >> i am neil cavuto from the visitor complex in florida. it is hard for people my age to believe that most americans weren't even alive the last time a man walked on the moon. apollo 17 astronauts were there on december 14th, 72. a number of the exprers who

made the trip passed away. the rest are now in their late 70s some 80s. but the story they tell sounds like something out of the future not the past. it's a story of how america with a combination of vision, high-tech know how and good old fashioned courage answered the challenge of a rival stepped into the unknown and achieved what almost seems as unbelievable today as it was a half century ago. >> it was october 4th, 1957, and at the height of the cold war. the soviets launched a satellite named sputnik which orbited the earth in over an hour and a half. >> they tell us the world may never be the same again. >> in 1957 when i was still in flight school sputnik was launched the beginning of the space age. >> the dawn of the space age was the start of the space rae. america competg with the soviets for scientific dominance. but in a world where americans

dug bomb shelters and worried about muss ills science spelled national security. >> the cold war had been pro clonged it was going on nobody could really see an end to it. there were all of the underlying risk of nuclear confrontations in the times. >> man wants it that required a few good men 7 to start with. >> there was 110 selected by the air force and navy. ithittled down to 32 after the interviews. 32 of us went to the clinic and i was the only guy to fly. oo i i had a high belly reuben which was a pigment in your blood. based on that they said well you are out. >> at the time your little boy was into dinosaurs and

rockettes. you were not into dinosaurs. >> when i didn't get into the mercury program i was interested in rockettes before the guys could spell. >> project mercury began in 1958 with the goal to put a hman in orbit and doing so before the soviets could. on the second count they failed. 3 and a half years after the sputnik shock on april 12th, 1961, the soviets out paced the u.s. once again when confidante became the first human being in space. >> they beat us into orbit. so we were behind. we were lagging. >> america scrambled to catch up. less than one month later mercury 7 became the first american in space. just over 3 nonts into his presidency john f. kennedy like millions of other americans across the country was glued to hi television.

>> he became an instant hero that they needed. >> jfk his sights set on beating the soviets had advice from the top engineers one was beamed rocket scientist. >> huntsville alabama president kennedy begins a two-day tour of u.s. space centers. >> i read a letter from warner von brawn he wrote to kennedy when he said how can we beat the russians, his letter basically said we can't beat them anywh e anywheres except to be the first on the moon. >> the president made a dramatic announcement before joint session of the congression. >> i believe this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal before this decade is out

of landing a man on the moon and bring him safely to the earth. >> we went to the moon to stick a flag on the moon before the russians did. >> we didn't have the cold war would kennedy have had the same zeal? >> no. >> to have something that would show america's responsibility to a challenge and do it in full open and peaceful way i think really did catch the imagination of american people and of the politicia politicians. in 1962 john glenn did a friendship 7 became the first american to orbit the earth. >> oh, that view is tremendous. >> we choose to go to the moon and do the other things. not because they arize zee but because they are hard. >> the mer tocury program

ultimately had a 6 man flight each mission a step closer to the ultimate goal. then as mercury was winding down oz september 2nd president kennedy was assassinated. they launch operation centers shall here after be known as the john f. kennedy space center. >> in april 1964 nasa launched project gem knee latin for twin >> the gemini was started it was a two-man spacecraft. the gem knee program was to show if we could do a rendezvous and dock. >> in order to get to the moon you had to have capability of two weeks in space, you had to be able to rendezvous, you had to be able to get outside of the space suit and have a guide to reentering.

we practiced those missions on gemini. the gemini was an extremely important part of the lunar program. >> on june 3rd, 1965, the astronaut became the first american. >> americaas still playing catchup however soviet cosmonaut had performed a space walk three months earlier. the big prize was still up there and the gemini missions were moving forward each one providing nasa with more information necessary for the ultimate quest. >> we are on our way. >> in december of 1965 gem any 7 rendezvous with gem any 6 a in orbit making it the firs aircraft to do so. gem any 7 doubled the amount of time any man had been in space. >> many doctors at that time

said people can't live in sglaer row gravity for too long. we saw changes in the body but there was nothing that couldn't be over come after two weeks. >> thawas significant. that meant we could go to the moon. we could chance a mission of that duration if not longer to change people's perspective. >> they said it would be about a two-week flight we had to make sure people were able to function in that respect. >> 14 day mission has shown us that man indeed adapts to the space environment the additional data allow us to commit men to a data allow us to commit men to a lunar mission. [ male announcer ] you are a business pro.

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>> everybody knew a lunar mission was extremely dangerous under taking. a man died on a launch pad during a dress rehearsal. they were helpless to save him. >> friday january 27, '19 # # 6 they enter

conducted a preflight test. test conductors were about ready to pick up the camera the instrument showe an unexplained rise in the oxygen flow into the safety. about 6 seconds later the voice of ed white came over the intercom. >> we have a fire in the cockpit. >> a fire in the cockpit. >> they were inside a spacecraft in pure oxygen. that's a recipe for disaster. all they needed was a spark and they got one. >> from a piece of exposed uninsulated wiring. >> why don't they get out? >> the patch hatch is on the ino to remove the match you had to pull it in turn it and slide it through the door. when the fire started you got 50,000 pounds of pressure holding it in place. >> all three men were dead. >> we lived near the wife of one of the crew members. >> he had the unenviable task of breaking the news to the wife. >> when i stopped in front of

the house even though she had not heard i could tell by the look on her face she knew something was wrong. >> frank other man was instrumental in reviewing the issue. >> nasa investigate it had self that left the outside people without the slightest idea of what was going on. that was one of the hall marks of the confidence that the public had in nasa at that time. we were able to get a team together and point out the failures and fix it. >> the testimony to congress helped convince the government and public although there was always risks nasa could learn from their mistas and they should go ahead.

>> the launch pad disaster may have allowed nasa to get to the moon fster than scheduled. >> we had an opportunity to work from the mistake. with you to accelerate the program. they had a goal to land on the moon by the end of the decade of the 60s. >> apollo 2 or 3, apollo 4, 5 and 6 were undamaged to test the sa safety of the probabling et. took two years before any went into orbit. apollo 7, 1968. the space program was back but the slow re-entry wasn't going to be enough to meet the deadline and beat the soviets. it would require a daring and dramatic change of plan.

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pick your [bleep] up. you're not [bleep] sittin' here. yes, i am. [laughter] move. move. [laughter/indistinct chatter] bully: give it to him hard. no, no, no, oww.

announcer: every day, kids witness bullying... boy: why are you stabbing me with it? no! announcer: they want to help, but don't know how. no! oww. ohh, you guys... announcer: teach your kids how to be more than a bystander. visit stopbullying.gov. >> 1968 was a year of chaos and conflict in the united states. martin luther king junior and robert f. kennedy riots engulfing our city the war in vietnam claiming lbj's esidency and alienating millions of americans. against this turbulent backdrop they resumed the flights aimed to test in space. the craft that had hoped to land on the moon before year's end. a sudden change of plan turned apollo 8 into another make or break mission. >> apollo 8 was not going to be a lunar flight. it was going to be an earth orbitable flight to test a

module to make sure everything was stirring from two vehicles before we convinced them to go to the moon. >> apollo 8 was a big step forward. even success of america would still be veiling the ru-- traile russns. >> they used animals to test whether they can send cauosmonas to not beat us for a landing but to go around the moon. they were fairly successful. in the soviet hierarchy should we send the cosmonauts they began to get cia signals maybe the soviets were going to try a circumstance come lunar flight a big figure 8 around the moon which would have massively under cut the pr potential of a lunar

landing or orbital flight. >> they weren't ready to go into space it was months behind schedule. instead of falling further behind the soviets nasa officials had a bold idea. >> lunar module was delayed considerably. nasa is one of the great stokes of management over the flight to a lunar orbitabl flight. >> if it worked they would leap across the soviets in a space race. astronaut not a cosmonaut would be the first to fly around the moon. >> it was one of the big gambling that nasa at the direction of the president took in order to establish america was better than the soviet union. >> a b gamble indeed. it was less than two years before aboll low demonstrated how complex how the smallest over site could be fatal. no one knew that better than the

point man in the apollo one investigation. nasa asked him to stay on the latest mission. >> i was called back, will you volunteer to take apollo 8 to the moon? yes, we would be happy to. we found out we would be going to the moon august of 1968. >> sort of last minute several months before we were scheduled to launch. we were being asked to do so ours is not the reason why but to do or die. >> do or die not support the astronauts. that was 1968 ended with a space disaster. it could end america's lunar quest for good. >> it occurred to me that if it wasn't successful it would be america's ilure. >> on december 21st, apollo 8 laufrped from kennedy space center. just over 2 and a half weeks

later they were the first humans to leave earth's orbit using a state of the art computer which had one 13th the memory of a modern calculator. they fired the first stage and set seventh it on a 3 day trip around the moon. >> the moon is essentially gray no color. >> as we came into earth rise we were shocked to see this earth coming up. we hadn't seen it before. we weren't briefed about it. >> this picture was photographed by bill anders. this shot has become one of the most reproduced space photographs in history. >> it was the only thing in space that had any color everything else was black-and-white. the earth was blue with white clouds and brownish continents.

we were a long way from home and it was christmas. it was a very no, sir tallgstal. we came all of the way to the moon and what perked our interest was the earth. >> i vaguely remember that. if somebody wants to give me credit i will take the credit. >> when they are in space they are surprised there are no boundaries. >> gives you more of an actual true perspective of our existence on earth. you look back on the ert look how small it is that you could cover it up with your thumb. we realize we ere so fortunate to have a body with the proper mass and everything to allow life to begin. >> with the world engrossed in apollo 8 they marked the holiday feast by taking turns reading

from the old testament. >> god said let the waters in heaven come to one place and let the dry land appear and it was so. god called the dry land earth. >> old testament is the basis of many of the world's religions. it affected most of the people that would be listening. we thought that was appropriate. >> they delayed a sighting that would delight children worldwide. >> there is a santa claus. >> a christmas celebration after he came back. >> ahead of time gave my wife a present the card said from the man on the moon. >> skwloefrd one up. >> apollo 8 showed everyone up. while they were beating the space race the end of the decade and jfk's deadline was quickly

approaching. >> there was only one giant step left to make. left to make. it was make epic moments in [ male announcer ] it's simple physics... a body at rest tends to stay at rest... while a body in motion tends to stay in motion. staying active can actually ease arthritis sympto. but if you have arthritis, staying active can be difficult. prescription celebrex can help relieve arthritis pain so your body can stay in motion. because just one 200mg celebrex a day can provide 24 hour relief for many with arthritis pain and inflammation. plus, in clinical studies, celebrex is proven to improve daily physical function so moving is easier. celebrex can be taken with or without food. and it's not a narcotic. you and your doctor should balance the benets with theisks. all prescription nsaids, like celebrex, ibuprofen, naproxen, and meloxicam have the same cardiovascular warning. they all may increase the chance of heart attack or stroke, which can lead to death.

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>> the next leg of the space race was a series of sprints. >> we launched a saturn 5 essentially every two months really a remarkable hievement. >> each mission got the astronauts closer to their ultimate goal. apollo 9 launching march 3rd, 1969, with daufr individual scott and russell swiet was the first to test the lunar module in space. they launched in 1969 john young flew within 50,000 pefeet of th

lunar surface. the landing commanded by neil armstrong. >> what will your plans be in the extremely unlikely event it does not come off the lunar surface? >> we have chosen not to think about that at the present time. >> other two crew members were collins and buzz aldrin who would walk on the move with neil armstrong. >> how it ended up neil armstrong was the first, you were supposed to be. >> there was an uncertainty every eva was always the junior person the senior person is responsible for much more requirements. it would seem to me the outside activity should be the junior peon. >> who was that supposed to be?

oo was it going to be you or armstrong? >> there is a lot of discussion about the commanders leading his troops the commander is a symbolic person. neil posted at the door i won't tell you which it would be. >> it is weird. >> no, it's not weird. i went home and told joan my wife frankly, i just asoon be on the later mission where i wouldn't have to put up with the celebrity speech making all of this for the rest of my life. >> july 16th, 1969, sh time. >> you think about the count down as the curtain opening worry is a wasted emotion. it clouds clear thinking that is absolutely needed when something go wrong.

>> the launch another stellar of fire was lost. three-day trip from the earth to the moon without insurance den the. >> we have a happy home. there's plenty of room for the three of us you. >> he coupled the lunar module from the command module and guided safely to the moovenlt on the way down armstrong and aldrin realized they were going long beyond the landing duck and into a boulder. that's when armstrong took over diverting from the plan he was now flying above unfamiliar territory searching for a safe spot to land while running low on fuel. >> we are on far side. looking at the altitude and it is about 100 feet. >> 60 seconds. >> 60 seconds.

>> we are still a ways off the ground we have 60 seconds. i am getting concerned. >> we got very tense in mission control biteling our nails and holding our breath because we are running out of gas. i called eagle 30 seconds. 13 seconds later on the stopwatch i heard contact engine stopped after a little pause neil very calmly said. >> the eagle has landed. >> i responded -- >> you got a bunch of guys ready to turn blue. we are breathing again. >> it landed 4:00 p.m. eastern time. 6 hours and 37 minutes later neil armstrong took humanity first step on the moon. what he said might be the most famous words of the 20th century or any century. >> one small step foreman, one

giant leap for mankind. >> mike and i asked him, mike said had you thought about what you were going to say when you get down on the moon? >> i don't know yet. when we ran i will start think being it. never know when to take him seriously. >> armstrong and aldrin spent 1 hour on the lunar surface. it was enough time to bounce around collect moon rocks and take several famous photos. aldrin with the american flag a football on the moon probably the most iconic of all. >> just walking then he said stop, hold it. i stopped. looked at it and he took the picture. >> people have asked me what is the significance of this picture? i say i got three words, location, location, location

chlgs . >> as a 10-year-old kimmed looking at this place. what's it like? >> you used the same word i did. but i prefaced desolate with magnificent because of humanity reaching outward and accomplishing something people thought were possible. >> apollo 11 made it to the moon 6 months ahead of the deadline jfk had set at the beginning of the decade. it was left to another president to congratulate the astronauts. >> for one priceless moment in the history of man all of the people on this earth are truly watching. >> president nixon had planned two different speeches one if you succeeded as you did and one if you didn't. fa other gain -- ordained the

men who went to the moon she's brave men kneel arm stro-- neil armstrong know there is no hope in recovery but they know there was hope in mankind for their sacrifice. >> they were worried about how they would take it. >> there are pioneers. it was doing something that hadn't been done before. >> they splashed down into the pacifijuly 249, 1969. the space race was over. stars and stripes were still there. >> coming up, in the 1960s there was a hitv show lost in space and a movie marooned. as long as humans dreamed of exploring the heavens they shuddered at the possibility of never getting back. for the astronauts of apollo

[girls laugh, bell rings] - whatever. - he asked me right before school started. - no way! - hi. - hi. - ♪ shine, come on and let it shine ♪ ♪ light me up-- - hi.

>> if i told you next week or next month or next year americans would be landing on the moon. how huge would that be? it's hard to believe after apollo 11 the idea of going to the moo became almost old hat after apollo 12 returned to the moon in november of 1969 some people were theelg these trips were getting routine. then the world was reminded starkly they were anything but. >> the analogy i use is first time you went across the atlantic created a lot of news. new we have hundreds of flights across the atlantic and nobody cares. we never lost our excitement because we knew what they wewe

doing was important. >> one was allen jeffers the first americann space who had not been in space since that slight in 1969. >> allen shepherd had been grounded. management said wait a second shepherd doesn't have that much training so far. we need to give him more training. would you mind taking 13 we are going to give shepherd 14. i said 13 would be fine. >> anothmore than fine tooled i lovely a chance to walk on the surface that much sooner. apollo 13 launched at 13:13 military time. it was set to enter lunar orbit on the 13th of april. the crew love vel, hayes had nothing but good luck. they finished a broadcast showing how comfortably they lived and worked in

waitnessless. >> this is apollo 13. nice evening. >> nine minutes later they caused the number one tank to also fame. >> houston. we have a provnlt words that would forever linked to commander love vill. >> when the explosion occurred i thought why me. for a while i couldn't belief it was happening but then i said it is mend it is now. what's next? >> electricity light and water all lost. there was no heat. they were 200,000 miles from earth and going in the wrong direction. >> did you ever think i might die? >> we thought our chances were about 10 percent. >> did you really? >> when we realized after we saw the oxygen things could be really bad.

>> as the world watched ground control in houston faced a formidable task. think of a way for the crew to test their spaceship and write up step by step procedures for the astronauts to follow just to get home. >> we went to sim tlierts to try to do what they do in damaged amroel 13 spacecraft to get them home. >> we are going to come up with good ideas for you. >> one is to shut down the command modules. they use the lunar model a craft used for settling two members of the crew to and from the moon. >> we had the lunar box less power batteries and oxygen. not enough. >> if we use it to get back home again. if not we were going to transmit as long as we could so people would have some idea of what to

do to correct the flights. >> i want to thank you for doing real good work. >> you all sounded so calm. you in particular sounded so at ease. if that were my i would be barney five i am 200,000 miles from home my spaceship blew up and i am not feeling optimistic. what went through your mind? >> a lot of people said you didn't understand the situation. >> carbon die ox levels were getting dangerously high. ground control fixed that by instructing the crew to build a makeshift rig called a mailbox to purge it from the craft. they were running low on water. >> you lost 14 pounds? >> i didn't realize i lost 14

pounds. i guess i was all charged up. >> they were sick, freezing and tired. but safe for now. they were getting the broken down craft on landing and great earth protection. they thought they could execute two separate burns made from the command module. it was one of mission's control greatest achievement. it generated necessary procedures to do this in three-days. something like that would normally take three months. >> we got smarter and smarter and smarter. then it became less don't make no mistake. >> people hoped for a miracle. they got one. apollo 13 crashed down safely on

april 17th. >> it was a failure in the initial mission but in reality it was a triumph in the go sabi of people to over come adversity. >> the triumph gave shepherd the courage to walk on the moon five months later. there there is no capacity gut craft. >> i fantasized, what i was going to do how i was going to act. >> above vil would never get a chance to go back. so close, so far. it launched 1917th, 1961. but james and alfred aboard. on april 15th, 1971, carrying john young and two others. they were the first missions to use theunar roving vehicle.

they were winding down. he returned to the move. the astronauts hoped so. it was amazing final mission it was amazing final mission after the break. [ roasting firewood ] ♪ many hot dogs are within you. try pepto-bismol to-go, it's the power of pepto, but it fits in your pocket. now tell the world daniel... of pepto-bismol to-go.

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here's what happened. i just truly feel winded. i can feel it in my back. i didn't realize what extra weight on the body feels like. oh, i definitely felt it in my knees. you can easily put 2, 3, 4, or 5 pounds on in a year. woman: 10 pounds makes a big difference. no one liked carrying the extra weight, but people do it all the time. wouldn't you like to drop that weight and stop picking up more? man: i think this is a lifechanger for me.

>> not long after neil armstrong made his giant leap for mankind, if we can put a man on the moon why and we build a decent umbrella or stop gum from sticking to our shoes. it viewed apollo as the ultimate human achievement up to that point. or will it be for all time.

>> i have been asked how does it feel to make the first step on the moon. i knew when i made the sfips it was mine. nobody could take it away from me. >> he almost gave it up. he did almost everything an astronaut could do even buzzing the moon on apollo 10. never set foot on the moon surface. he would command a flight of his own. there is no guarantee that would be an apollo 17 or he would be on it. yet he was given the final flight of the program. >> this is going to be the best, right? >> yes, sir. that's the way we feel about it. >> the first nonmilitary trained astronaut. the launch america's first ever at night took place for december 7th, 1972. it went smoothly. he snapped this photo now known

as the blue marble picture. >> we had a view of a nearly full earth. i took that from 34,000 miles away. it is the most rerequested photograph from the archives. >> during the dissent of the surface he learned while being in comnd is a heavy burden. >> you had changed some things. >> you can't push the stop put ton and say we have a problem let's talk about it. >> we were in dead man's curve where if the engine fails you cannot stage fast enough to get out there and go back into the orbit. juan way or another you are going to end. when i touched the surface set me in shadam. if you landed with the engine burning it could have exploded

and ruins your whole day. comes on press the button and boom you feel gravity. the thing liked is looking out over the mountainous valley realizing i am nowhere no human beings. >> the total time we were outside of the spacecraft. >> they dealt with it he want be to be on the moon every time. >> never fallen before. you are only coming this way once. ♪ i was strolling on the moon one day sn♪ >> enjod it. they did and i did. bounced around. it was a natural response to our ronment. >> going out further and staying out longer let them exposed to the lunar elements.

every minute they spent outside involved risks which they soon discovered the lun czar rover. the just because moving on you and others. on the moon dust affects the thermal eye drunks. rises well barack obama oil. a oo it took tame that we clamp it on made of taped together goefs that worked extremely well. we have become honorary members. >> you got a close call. >> you leigh the earth and you put in a new environment people say i didn't go to the moon not to come back. >> blooming with color

atmosphere and the like. in a cold black sky for soundly effect i6 surfaces. >> if i could take every human being with me. then back at the earth. the world may very well be a better place to live in today there is no question of my mind that he is a creator of the universe. >> once you are exposed this is what you seechlt>> dust particles gave it energy and eventually life. # on november 18th collected more than thinking at school tell you? i know i am not looming back

this way, neil armstrong burning it on an access. started up the ladder and i was mrooking for the freeze button. >> america's challenge of today has forged man's destiny of tomorrow. you were the lathes hue h-- la being to touch the surface. how does that mike you feel? >> god related we shall return. with pause a peace and hope for mankind god speed to the crew of channel 2013. >> i am convinced the space program will come back.

the country is to have something to look forward to, to be proud of. >> my grandmother on a farm from washington had no electricity an outhouse and she watched the first run to the moon. >> i hope that happens some day. >> it has been 40 years since we left the moon. mes of the apollo astronauts. the roar kiss wanz role. the space program has continued. technology of the space shuttle mars rover. human accomplishment to apollo or capture the imagination of younger americans. edward our nation mal ket.

she has to kurn his car. we can learn agnew the lesson apollo showed us. if we america set our sight on a goal and sum monday the fill to goal and sum monday the fill to aleve it, even the sty [ woman ] ring. ring. progresso. your soups are so awesomely delicious my husband and i can't stop eating 'em! what's...that... on your head? can curlers! tomato basil, potato with bacon... we've got a lot of empty cans. [ male announcer ] progresso. you gotta taste this soup. gives you 1% cash back on all purchases, plus a 50% annual bonus. and everyone...but her likes 50% more cash. but i'm upping my game.

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